Monday, April 28, 2008

Whole Wheat Black Bean, Mushroom and Olive Empanadas

These were really good, but they do take a fair amount of time. I spaced it all throughout the day, so it didn't seem like much, but the meal does take a couple hours in total. The time is well worth it.

The dough is a work in progress, but it was very tasty for my first attempt.

These are the basic ingredients in Empanada Sauce.

A picture of the New Mexican chilies toasted.

Empanada Sauce simmering.

The finished product. This sauce is really good.

Empanada Sauce

Makes about 1 1/2 cup.

Note: This is not a spicy sauce. It would also go well with tacos, tostadas and taco salads.

4 dried red New Mexican chilies

5 dried Chiles Japones

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

6 tomatillos, husks removed and quartered

1/4 red onion, minced

1 cup water

juice of half a lime

cumin

salt

Heat a griddle on medium heat for about 2 minutes.

Place chilies and unpeeled garlic on the griddle and toast until slightly black on each side, about 3 minutes on each side. Let the garlic cool just a bit and peel, remove stems from chilies and halve.

Simmer all the ingredients in a sauce pan until tomatillos are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove the chilies from the sauce.

Transfer the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until very smooth.

If the sauce needs to be spicier, add bits of the chile at a time. (I left one of the chiles in.)

This sauce lasts about a week in the fridge and freezes well.

Black bean, mushroom, olive and veggie filling.

Empanada ready to be folded up.

Baked and ready to eat.

Mini empanadas.

Whole Wheat Black Bean, Mushroom and Olive Empanadas

I made two large empanadas for our dinner and then used a cookie cutter to make mini empanadas for snacks as there wasn't really enough worth freezing.

Dough:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup corn meal

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp Earth Balance (I use the non-hydrogenated organic kind)

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 cup warm water

cumin

chipotle chili powder

cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and spices.

Using a knife, cut the Earth Balance into the flour.

Using a fork to combine ingredients, start adding the vinegar and water in batches. The mixture should be just combined and still lumpy.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead a time or two.

Put back into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in circles, the size is dependent on how large you want the empanadas.

Leng - I bet these would be good, pre-made, and frozen. Then you'd just have to pop 'em in the oven or microwave.

My issues with the dough: First, it simply needed more salt. I also think I overcooked it a bit, as it wasn't as chewy as I wanted it to be. I think next time, I'll try using corn masa (flour) instead of corn meal. Perhaps some other really fine flour.

You know what's odd, I've found the spicier a meal is, the more garlic it needs, don't ask why. I haven't gotten any complaints that my food is too garlickly though. But we also really like garlic.

dammit! blogger erased my comment! I wrote a really long one too. ay ya ya!

okay well, here I go again....

I feel the same way about garlic and spice in meals. they go hand in hand, eh?

Adding the flour instead of cornmeal sounds like it would make the dough chewier...well, I don't know much about savory baking, but I know you'll figure it out...You're a professional! And don't say you're not 'cause there's proof on your blog! :-D

Have a great Wednesday Jennifer! (and Brett, and cute plants that are growing!)